The Undertow Devours
by omnenomnom
Summary: Soul was out looking for adventure and glory but a strange island and even stranger girl ruin his plans. Now it's a fight against the very island to find his way back to his crew, his ship and his country. AU
1. A Ripple in the Tides

**The Undertow Devours**

 **Rating: T for mild swearing and minimal adult topics**

 **Summary: Maka had lived alone on her island her whole life. It was strange but it was hers. But the sea is calling and it sure looks more like a snow storm than any hurricane.**

It was one of the nicest day's Maka had experienced in her young life. The sun was shining, enough to kiss her skin with it's warmth but not so strong as to leave the blazing red marks of a burn. The grass felt cool under her toes making for the best kind of contrast for her task.

Which at the moment she wanted to drop in exchange for enjoying the fantastic weather while she still could. However, Maka was never one to slack off and a quick peek at the storm clouds rolling in behind her was enough to discourage anymore lollygagging. They seemed far off now but the storms around here had a way of blowing in faster than she expected. Grasping the rough woven basket in her right hand she supported it against her hip while her left hand picked at the bright red berries.

The bushes grew everywhere on the island and really there should be no berries left on the branches. However, while delicious, the berries had a uncanny habit of only growing next to very similar red berried plants that were decidedly not delicious and would lead to a week's worth of violent vomiting and wishing you were dead. The trick to it was using the wrong berries to find the right ones. If there was a patch of the poisonous ones there was likely a small bush of the edible berries growing in the center. Differentiated only by a small white dot on the bottom it was easy to pick out the good from the bad.

After visiting a few patches Maka had filled her basket of berries which would have otherwise been lost to the vicious winds of the storm. Popping one in her mouth she continued towards home thinking that she should stock up on some water, just in case. If anything Maka Albarn was always prepared.

####################

Soul missed the sea. It was something he would have never thought he would say out loud after being stuck on board for so long but after a few hours on land he had already begun to miss the steady rocking of the waves and the promise of adventure.

When Ox had spotted land Soul had nearly screamed in excitement. On the inside. To the rest of the crew he looked just as bored as he usually did. But of course he was excited, this is what they were here for! New lands and adventure were in their sight. The glory he could bring to his family name as the first one to discover an untouched place. He briefly wondered if there would be natives and if they would be friendly but quickly tossed the idea aside. They had all the gunpowder they could need, surely no savage with a pointy stick could chase them out. Not with the excitement of exploration running through their blood.

Or at least that's what he had thought. As soon as they had pulled into the cove Soul jumped in the landing boat and slouched into his seat as if he had been there all along. The small raft pushed off from the main vessel leaving Ox and Kilk to watch over it. However, as soon as his feet had hit the sand all the men were called to order.

"Gentlemen," The captain was a tall, slightly gangly man with dark black hair and amber eyes. The way the sunlight made it shine it seemed like 3 bars of white were painted across his forehead. "Before you go gallivanting off like a bunch of raving mad men, I will remind you that you are not to leave this beach. We are in uncharted territory and have no idea what lies beyond that tree line."

Soul had started to inch away, eager to see exactly what was beyond that treeline. "Eater! You dare defy the order I _just_ gave?"

Never one to respect authority Soul took a step back towards the group and swallowed the witty remark on the tip of his tongue. Kid was a good captain and treated them all much better than any other officer Soul had run across in the military. In a way Soul knew he was right as well, anything could be out there, which is why he had to find out exactly what.

"No, Captian. I simply thought I saw something moving on the beach but it was only a crab." It was a lame excuse and both parties knew that but Kid also knew what he was getting into when he called for men who were ready to throw away their lives for a chance of adventure and the promise of an early death. But if anyone could pull it off it was Death the Kid, who never let anyone get away alive.

"The for the love of the queen, catch it next time. We're going to need something to eat on this barren hell hole." The captain said turning away from Soul to monitor the landscape. "Right then. Star. Patti. You two set up the tent's we need a command center on the beach before we go anywhere. Liz you find the nearest source of fresh water but do NOT extend beyond that tree line for even a foot or God help me I will make sure that this island has never seen and will never see a beating like yours again, is that clear?"

The two younger members of the party had already started unloading the boats and constructing the tents that would serve as a post for those on land. Liz was the older sister of Patti and was fiercely protective over her, often making her the most reliable member to not do something that would get them all killed. The captain had picked up the two as stowaways in Barcelona before setting off for the long voyage. Kid's ship was well organized but the two were excellent at hiding. It was 2 weeks before they were found and it was too late to turn back to land by then. They proved to be rather useful, with Liz carrying enough weight for three good men and her sister being rather useful at navigation...usually.

"Eater." Soul lolled his head away from the elder Thompson sister to look at his captain. As usual his "standing at attention" was slouched and his gaze lazy. With a grin his captain threw him a shovel and assigned his task. "Latrine duty"

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Maka thought she had a few more good hours before the storm hit but as usual it blew in with an almost supernatural speed. The dark gray clouds blocked out the sun that she had so enjoyed earlier. There was a noticeable chill in the air from the dropping temperature and Maka had very little time to spare. The spring by her home was nearby but she had barely had time to fill her last cantine and was now rushing back. The leaves of passing vines had curled in on themselves as if to cower away from the incoming danger. The grass was no longer cool or soft but instead very nearly pricked her feet with the sharpness. Her time was running out.

Picking up speed she ran through the forest deftly, dodging fallen trees and briar bushes covered in thorns. The trees had seemed welcoming and playful before were now shadowed giving off a deep and menacing vibe. She grasped a branch and swung over a small ravine which ran adjacent to her home. She was back with time to spare.

There was a sudden snapping sound as the thick branch gave away sending Maka tumbling down 6 feet down into the fissure. Due to her quick reflexes Maka crouched and rolled away from the fall where the branch crashed after her. Standing upright, she examined herself for any serious injuries only to find the momentum of her roll had taken most of the fall. Quickly she examined the branch she had swung from since she was 8.

"I have not gained that much weight." Jumping over the thick wood she examined the broken end. The center of the branch was will green which meant the tree had not died and rotted without her notice. The edges were also snapped and frayed indicating that it was neither sawed or chewed off by some wild animal. With a sigh she rolled her shoulders to verify they were in good working order before taking off at a brisk run down the ravine towards her home.

"I swear, sometimes this place is just trying to kill me." She was nearly there and quiet nearly out of time when the dark gray stone of her home drifted in view. Unfortunately she was a good 7 feet below it and had very little options as to ways up. Before finding the branch she has climbed the rocky surface using vines and foot hold but there was no way they would hold her up now.

With a sigh she jogged further down the ravine, passing her home. Another 5 minutes down she saw a collapsed pile of loose rocks leading to a steep slope up the sides. Landslides were common in the area and for a moment she prayed to the island for helping her out. Even if it was the reason she was running behind in the first place.

Quickly and gracefully she ascended over the ridge. Only taking a moment to orientate herself towards her home she broke out in a sprint. The clouds above her were rumbling and the temperature had dropped even further causing goosebumps to rise on her arm. She could almost feel the tension in the air, like watching water added to a cup bit by bit, until it spills over.

For the second time that day and for the second time in 6 years Maka found herself falling again. There was no stopping this one as threw out her arms to break her fall. She winced as the skin of her hands ripped and stung, small pieces of the earth implanting themselves into the flesh. In exchange, the rest of her body was slowed enough that no real damage was done.

Maka cursed herself for being so careless. She was so used to knowing the way she hadn't bothered to watch her feet on her new path. With a sigh she lifted herself to glare hatefully at whatever root had tripped her only to find a large tuft of white fur between a patch of bushes. Briefly she worried she had stepped on and killed some poor animal, until it groaned much louder than any noise an animal that small could make. Slow she pushed the bushes aside ready to run at the first sign of trouble only to find the last thing she thought she would ever see on this island. A sleeping boy with a shock of white hair. She looked up briefly at the sky and the impending storm before glancing back at the boy.

"You really are trying to kill me aren't you." The island responded with a boom of roaring thunder and Maka could swear it was laughing at her.

 **AN: Hey all back from the dead, also known as nursing school.**

 **Well really just visiting, I was struck with inspiration and just had to get this out of my head. For those of you who want Strings, sorry. Maybe one day. This won't be a long epic tale, just something fun maybe 8 chapters.**

 **Feels good to be back snacklets, feels good.**


	2. The Primary Force

**See author's note at end for any * in the chapter for more information. RxR**

 _Stupid Kid._ If Kid had just let Soul explore the island first he would have actually payed attention to where he was going. Instead of following the poorly drawn map in his hands.

 _Stupid Patti._ Sure he knew Patti was often unreliable when it came to land but it was just the area around the stream, she couldn't have messed it up this bad.

 _Stupid Wes._ If it weren't for him Soul wouldn't be in this position, lost in the greenery surrounding the camp. They had run out of space for a latrine on their 3rd day of the beach and Kid was forced to send Soul into the jungle of the island for a place far enough from camp. He had sent Patti first to make the map but it was clearly as useless as he was.

Now, Soul was far from useless on board the ship, he was in charge of defence. He manned the cannons and was the best swordsman aboard the ship other than Kid. But, on land, he was next to useless barring a random attack. So, latrine duty.

Which is how he ended up getting so turned around in the jungle that he had managed to lose sight of the boat, the camp, and even the beach all together. At first he figured he had just walked the wrong direction and turned the other way. But after walking for 20 minutes the sound of the waves weren't getting any closer.

Assuming he was right the first time he did the very first thing they taught in the academy navigation course, walk in a straight line back to where you started. Unfortunately it was difficult to walk in a straight line when all sorts of roots, bushes, vines, and branches blocked your path. And this, Soul reasoned, was how he had gotten so lost. Even the sound of the waves had disappeared leaving him to wander the forest. With no clear direction in sight.

The clouds of an oncoming storm had blocked out the sun leaving him with no sense of direction and no where to go. He could try calling out but he may attract unwanted attention.

He glanced upwards at the storm. Where the previously blue and sunny sky had welcomed them onto the island now stood gray thick clouds that were quickly likening to black. The storm would be a bad one, worse than they had seen so far on the voyage, and he had to find shelter or risk getting caught out in the rain.

In a nearby ravine he noticed a slightly larger than himself opening in the wall. Sliding down the side he lowered himself down the 3 or so meters to the rocky floor. The entrance was unassuming enough, rising about a foot off the ground not looking to sharp around the edges.

"Well at least it won't flood." A low rumble from above threatened him into the hole. It was thinner than he was wide so he turned, leading in with his right shoulder. It was pitch black inside and he could hear a low hum that wasn't unpleasant.

"Yeah this will work. I've stayed in worse." He said to no one in particular. A career in the Navy is not alway a glamorous one. He groped around near the entrance with what little light filtered in. Checking all of his pockets for his state issued lighter he found it in the left breast pocket of his jacket. With a cocky smile at beating the storm he flicked the lighter open and sparked it.

The gas didn't catch but the humming of the cave grew louder. Soul wondered briefly if the rain had begun before covering the flame and sparking it again. It didn't catch but the droning from above grew obtrusively louder prompting Soul's want for light even more. With one last flick the gas finally lit, flaring up into a small but bright flame.

The sound had become deafening as Soul pulled his hand away to illuminate the rest of the cave. Unfortunately he very quickly realised that the sound above him was not rain at all. Huge criss crossing pattern of thick waxy material was filled with a dripping thick blue substance. A drop landed on his lips and he licked the sticky gel with his tongue only to find it sweet. Like honey.

With a quick glance of horror he saw the millions of small moving creatures above him. Loudly buzzing and starting to descend towards him.

"Bees?" He asked himself questionably. When the first one stabbed into his right bicep and a burning pain met his nerve endings he had his answer. "BEES!"

He flicked the lighter shut as he jumped out of the cave. No storm was worth being locked in a cave with millions of stinging bees. To his horror the bees seemed to carry on a vengence of their own as they shot out of the cave by the thousands. The humming mass flew straight towards him leaving Soul no choice but to run or experience in worst pain in his life. He ran up the ravine in what he thought was the opposite direction from which he came but the insects followed him still, a buzzing mass of hatred and anger.

Charging up the ravine, he tripped over wayward rocks and roots but quickly corrected himself every time one of the faster bees' stinger slammed into his skin. He scrambled up a sloped edge and into the forest hoping to the queen, God, and any other Saint that someone would spare him.

He didn't notice the loud rumbling from the sky that shook deep in his chest. Nor did he notice the swarm of insects freeze for just one second before quickly zooming back to where they had come from. And he certainly didn't notice the upturned root before it caught his foot and slammed him into ground.

 __

 _#########_

 _Stupid BlackStar._ Soul thought to himself behind closed eyes. He had a pounding headache and the last thing he wanted was to let the loud carpenter see that he was awake. Star had probably found some rum and slipped it into Soul's mug when he wasn't watching and that's what lead to this killer headache.

There was the tell tale crackle of a fire and Soul wondered how they had lit it in the bunk room. The only place not made of wood was in the kitchen and surely Star wasn't idiotic enough to start a fire on the wood planks of the-

"You fucking Idiot!" Soul jerk up with a start. His warm blankets falling away from him in hopes the boat wasn't already past saving. However, they weren't his heavy, scratchy navy issued blankets, instead a soft silvery fur pelt from some unrecognized animal covered him. The fire was set on cool stone ground and the safe comforting rocking motion of the boat at sea was gone.

In it's place was a large domed room made of stone. The fire burned brightly in a pit placed towards the center of the room with the smoking seemingly sucked through a hole in the ceiling. There was a large wooden table in the a section of the room topped with bottles of all colors and various liquids. The rest of the room was lacking much of anything else except for one clear thing.

Books. At least a hundred. They were piled up all over the place. Some were placed in neat stacks by the door while the ones near the fire were strewn about on the table, chairs, and floor. Others still were just thrown about the room and seemed to stack to the ceiling, having no rhyme or reason to be there.

It was at this moment that Soul's body realized it wasn't about to sink to the bottom of the ocean as a smoldering husk and replaced the fire running through his veins with a new burning sensation. He let himself fall back into the decidedly comfortable bed, or was it a cot? He was eye level with the nearest book laid flat on the floor.

 _On Indications of a Failing Heart._

"A romance novel?" He shook the thought from his head before doing a brief systems check. He could move all his toes and that was a start. However, that's where the good news ended. On an attempt to circle his ankle an electric shock fired up his leg.

He winced before checking the other leg. It seemed fine and both would move, allbeit painfully. His stomach, chest, and erhrm, private bits were all thankfully no worse of the wear minus a few scratches from the undergrowth and small bruises that painted his body. The main concern was the massive pounding in the back of his skull.

No Soul was no medic. He was on board the ship to injure others not fix them. But in his days at sea he had learned the major risk of the most common injury. Clearly his skull hadn't broken, otherwise he would have been dead by then. But, at the same time, there was no way his head wouldn't be bleeding, and head wounds bleed A LOT.

He touched the back of his neck gingerly, wincing when he felt wet and warm. Pressing on the location of the pain, his hand met cloth not flesh. After a moment of confusion he recognized the material as a bandage. Realizing someone had just patched him up recently, he readied himself for their return. He hadn't exactly been a quiet riser.

As if on queue, a small movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. A page had flipped as if blown by the wind but he didn't feel any breeze. Ah, the mark of someone not wanting to be seen, he knew the feeling well.

"I know you're in here, may as well come out… I won't hurt you." He added at the end just in case they were still deciding what to do with him. Now Soul was never one for arbitrary violence, a fist fight with a friend sure but he didn't go looking for fights. So you could imagine his surprise as a book came flying at his head faster than the canons the girls manned. It slammed into his shoulder and knocked him back into the bed.

"Hey, what in God's name?" He shot back up making his head spin for the second time in 10 minutes however he was too stunned to notice when he saw a young female with light blond hair and forest green eyes. She was slight of frame, with a soft face and quiet demeanor. Soul would probably place her at 12, maybe a small 13 year old. While her face was young it was full of anger and bright red as she struggled to speak.

"You. Hurt. Joke." Her voice was harsh and the tone and volume changed with every word. The pronunciation was right but came of the inflections sounded like she was unfamiliar with them.

 _She must not speak english very well._ He thought of other territories in the area and what colonies may have spread to this part of the ocean.

"?Hablas Español?" She stared blankly at him and he took it as a no. "Francis? Italiano? Dutch?"

"English." She stood up from her hiding spot behind the door. She was taller than he had first thought and not as thin. She was indeed slight but it was finely toned muscles he had mistaken for bone.

"Excellent. That's my best. Are your parents around?" He spoke slowly giving her time to process. She was probably still young and learning the language from her family.

"No." It was unfortunate, he had to be on his way back to the ship as quickly as possible. It was a whole new game now that he knew there were humans on the island.

"Ah, perhaps a priest then?" She stared at him with eyes full of confusion. His second guess would have been a convoy sent from the church to educate native populations of new colonies but apparently that was not correct.

"Is there anyone who speaks english on this island?" Things would get much tougher if they had no way to communicate. She would have to take him to the elders of the community so they knew his crew meant no harm. As it was the Queen would be happy with the new land they seemed to have found.

"Me."

"Yes but I need to speak to an adult. A leader or someone like that. Who takes care of you?" The silences as she processed were getting shorter. At least she appeared to be a quick learner.

"Me." She didn't move any closer and kept her frame tense. Like she was going to have to escape quickly. And while Soul was getting annoyed he was nowhere near intending to hurt her.

"I'm not insulting your english I just need someone in power to-"

"No!" Her voice was louder than it had been. Not quite a yell but more of a growl of frustration. He waited quietly for her to finish. "Just me. Here. Alone. Noone. Isolation."

 _Isolation is a pretty big word. Surely she wouldn't live here alone._ He thought. Surely the cave was nice but someone had to hunt, find food, take care of her.

"Is there someone else on the island? Who checks on you? Looks after you?" After a moment she wrapped her arms around her waist and just shook her head.

"No. Just me."

 _She's on this big island alone?_ She couldn't be. Even if it had only been a weeks she would have never made it alone. He almost died and he had weapons, knowledge, and age on her.

"How long?" Her solemn look was replaced with confusion and there was no answer so he reworded it. "Time, how much time here?"

"Always." She answered almost immediately with a shrug of her shoulders.

"You don't have parents, siblings, a care taker?"

"No others. Just Me." She looked thoughtfully then shuffled closer. "You. First human ever. How?"

He didn't know how to respond. This small girl in front of him somehow appeared on the island and according to her, found herself a home and raised herself. How could she even understand the concept of what a human was without seeing another one. "Uh, boat. It's on the sea. It floats, kind of like a leave or a -"

"No boat." Soul was a bit indignant. How could she say how he had gotten there?

"Yes, boat. I know I was on it." She paused for a moment picking up a book from the pile nearby him and flipping through it. It was too far for him to see the title but it was thick. Thicker than some of the navigation books on board.

"Meant understood boat. Word boat. Concept."

"Oh." She was closer now and what he had mistook for childish curiosity was now clearly revealed as a sharp intelligence. He had deeply waited expectantly for another response. "We sailed here. From England to explore."

"England?"

"Yes, it is the island I am from. Well sort of an island. More of a kingdom really." She sat herself on the ground to his right, far too close to be proper. After a moment she reached over his exposed chest and Soul felt a moment of horror as he realized it was her who undressed him in the first place. She eased back with another book, this one he could clearly read. _A Collective of Human Geographic Knowledge._ She flipped it open to the first few pages before shoving it insistently at his face.

"Englaland? " He looked at the old map, it was clearly out of date and some of the borders had changed but she pointed to the right one.

"That's it." She paused a bit before her eyes shot open wide.

"Angel?!"

"What? No! What? I'm not an angel? Where would you get that idea from? How do you even know what angels are?" She was already flipping through the books pages. She found what she wanted quickly and turned it back to him. He read it aloud.

"The name Englaland is derived from the terms mean land of the Angles, one of the first germanic tribes to settle there." He paused as he recalled hearing something similar in primary school. "Oh, no. Those aren't angels those are a race of people. Angels come from heaven and God."

She looked oddly at him, her book probably had not mentioned or explained race very well. "What made you think I was an angel anyway?"

She pointed at his hair. He thought it had made him look more like a devil than anything else. A lot of other people thought it as well. She reached to her left and pulled out a beautiful leather bound book. It was crusted with gems, a few missing in certain spots, and bound with gold thread. It was probably worth a fortune!

She ignored that fact or didn't recognize it as she cracked the book open with a creak. It took longer than the others but he had assumed she was less familiar with this one. She turned the book to reveal a picture of winged angels frolicing in a beautifully detailed garden of Eden. The writing at the base was delicate and smooth with the penmanship that had to have been hand written. _The Angels of the Lord._

 _Oh a bible. Where did she get that?_ Soul thought to himself.

Her finger moved to brush across the hair of one of the creatures. It was the lightest of blondes that overtime had indeed faded to white. He jumped when he felt a hand brush against his forehead. Looking up from the book her face was just inches away from him, graced with a look of wonder. _How could she have been alone for so long?_

More than just her physical being, being separate from humanity so long you don't know what it's like to run hair through another's feeling had to have been terribly lonely. Who knows what damage it could have done.

"On boat?"

"Huh?" He was pulled out of his musings by her question. Her voice had gotten steadier over the course of the conversation. He assumed because it had been the first time she had ever really used it. Her grasp of the language was really remarkable. She must have come here at around 6 learning the language for the most part before forgetting it all.

"You to island from boat."

"Oh yes I came on a boat."

"Boat no have humans. How boat?"

"Boats need to have people to sail it. It's called a crew." He instantly started. He had forgotten all about his crew. They were probably out looking for him.

A large rumble vibrated it's way down the cave walls, clearly he hadn't slept through the storm. He struggled to throw the blankets off him, scaring the young girl back. "My crew! I have to get back to them! They're on the beach. They're probably out in this storm looking for me. They'll get swept away."

He spotted his shirt and sword on the table with the strange collection of bottles. Some herbs stuck to the back as he pulled his shirt on.

"What do?" The girl struggled out. Having righted herself before standing up by the fire. She was wearing a tattered, off-white, mens shirt tucked into a plaid skirt. It was similar to the one Scots wore to battle. Now that was a fight you didn't want to pick. Perhaps she was from Scotland. It would explain her attack on him earlier.*

"I have to leave." He continued to struggled with the buttons of his shirt. Some were missing and she had clearly ripped them off when she had found him. Thankfully his black pants were still on. He scrambled towards the stone he thought was blocking the entrance. It was large but thin, more like a sheet.

"No leave." She threw herself in front of the stone before he could grab it and leaned back. Soul didn't think she could beat him but really didn't want to fight while injured.

"Look, I know it must be a miracle to have come across me to you. But I have to get back. My crew is out there and they're worried about me. You can even come with me, we can get you off this god forsaken island. But we have to go now."

"No go!"

"Now see here girl-"

"Maka." She spit out before he could finish.

"What?"

"Identify me, Maka." It took him a moment to realize that she was telling him her name.

"Hello, Maka. I am Soul and we need to leave. Or at least I need to. I will come back if you don't want to go."

"No. Storm. Danger." Her sentences had broken up again in the stress for time as he tried to push past her.

"It's just some rain and wind. My crew is in more trouble down on the beach, they will need help securing the base."

"No. White. Thunder. Cold. Precipitation?"

"It don't care about the cold or the rain. I have to leave. Just let me by."

"Urggghh. Freeze. Air. Blow. Blindness. Danger. Death!" She growled in the cave in frustration. Soul felt bad for her but he had to leave. He hated to threaten her but she couldn't have him trapped forever. Pulling his sword from its sheath he gestured it toward her.

"Please Maka. I have to leave." Maka looked conflicted before sighing and grabbing his wrist. She held onto it tightly so he could not reach for the door before grabbing another large silver pelt from a pile near by. She draped it around his shoulders before grabbing another one for her. After a moment's examination he found it to be from a very large animal. . It was all in one piece and covered him well enough to wrap complete around him and his legs. He briefly wondered how she had found it before brushing the thought aside when Maka's hands touched the door

"I don't need this, the rain won't hurt me. Keep it for yourself" He had begun to unwrap it when Maka looked back. She jump before smacking at his wrist.

"No! Keep!" Soul instantly froze. If the cost of going back to his crew was stumbling through the jungle in a fur coat he would deal with it. She confirmed his coat was still on and pulled the area around the neck tighter before nodding and turning back to the door.

With a heave of her small frame the door shifted. There was a scraping sound on the floor as the rock dragged across it. He stuck out his hand to help only to have it smack again before slipping it back into his coat. With one more push the door cracked open just enough for Soul to be blinded by the outside light.

What he had mistaken for lightning was actually a white wall of blisteringly cold snow. The wind forced its way into the cave chilling him to the bone in spite of his coat. The cold burned his exposed skin for just a moment before he lost feeling in his cheeks.

As soon as it had struck him it was over. A panting Maka stood on the opposite side of the door which was now coated with a thin layer of ice. She glared at him before dropping her coat to the ground revealing shivering arms and legs.

"Said. Not safe."

"But my crew. They're still out there."

"Dead." She responded coolly as she checked the perimeter of the opening for leaks.

"But what if they aren't? What if they held up in the tents or around a fire? Surely they couldn't-"

"Maybe. Shelter. Cold not able come in. Only when door open. If stay shelter crew fine"

"Maka their tent's aren't made of stone, they're made of cloth. They need my help. I'll just wrap up better and go find them. I can bring them back here and-"

"No. Soul die. Cold no enter if not open. Cloth or rock. They stay. They live. You leave. You die." She stalked past him, close enough he could see the barely blue tinge on her cheek bones. He recognized it from the time Patti had gotten them lost and they almost reached the North pole before turning around. It was frostbite.

"But how it was only on us for a second!"

"Island, not normal. Strange things always." She returned to stoke the fire that had almost blown out as thunder rumbled ominously above them.

 _Stupid Soul,_ he thought to himself. _How did you get in this mess?_

 **Hey Snacklets,  
So here is the second chapter. I hope to keep them around this long. No Maka this time but next time. I promise the dialog won't stay like this long. **  
*** Note: The time period of this story is a bit unclear. It around the 1900's but I'm not focusing on the perfect dates too much. The scottish bit for Maka's kilt (ie. school uniform) is related to the long standing fight between the British and the Scots for independence. The scottish were seen as barbarians by the british and known for their violence in battle (Often times described as dropping from the trees naked with swords and still handly kicking some british ass earlier in the country's history.) and temper.**


	3. Displacement

**Hello my sweet snacklets! Here is your next chapter, keep up the follows and reviews, let's me know people are actually reading this!**

 **-Om**

By the time Maka had restoked the fire Soul was staring aimlessly ahead from his spot on the cot she had pulled out of him. His legs were crossed and his hands fell to his side limply. She felt a bit bad for being so harsh but he had to know that his crew wasn't worth freezing to death. After the frustration of not being able to get out the words she had wanted to say the first thing she did was find the large white book that talked about weather patterns. Soul didn't seem to notice her leave the room or when she came back or really anything at all. She chalked it up to the head trauma as she flipped through the pages of The Worst Weather of the Known World. Flipping to the back few chapters she found the chapter she was looking for. Snow Storms of the Ages. "Snow!" She practically yelled the word. It had been so long since she had read the book she had forgotten it. Soul flinched from across the room before looking at her. "What?" It was the first time she had really looked at him. She was too busy looking at his various wounds earlier to look in detail at his face and afterwards he was too far from the light. His eyes reflected the red light of the fire, brighter than the berries in a bowl at his feet. The white hair she had mistaken for etheral was greasy and slightly dingy. It reminded her a bit of the eagle nest on the ridges near the ocean. "Snow. Outside. Snowstorm!" Maka hated how slow she spoke. She had never thought she would have to speak. She didn't even know if she ever really learned to speak or if she was just starting from scratch. When there is no one to hear you, you just stop. "Yeah. It's weird. Does this usually happen?" "Yes, inside for 7 nights." He grew quiet again and watched her. After a moment Maka realized it was her turn to speak. She paused for a moment under the stress. She didn't want him to think her some kind of idiot. She had to reply with something so he knew she was worth speaking to. Glancing at a book in her hands she flipped open to a strange section entitled Weather Patterns of the World. It had been a while but she still remembered thinking the same thing about the snow after she found the book. She had assumed it was just incorrect but after cross checking it with other tombs that had washed ashore she discovered it was just on the island the weather was so odd. That there were a lot of things on the island that didn't seem to follow the rules in her books. "Strange for island. Island usually have," She paused looking down for the word. "Hurricaine. Especially this part of an ocean. Don't know why." The boy looked up at her apparently impressed. He had underestimated her before but she would not let it happen again. The first human she had ever really met would not think her stupid. "Those were some pretty big words." "My thanks to you." She nodded and couldn't hide the pride she felt in his approval. "Hey Maka, right? If no one was here to teach you to English how did you learn to speak?" He pulled his knees up to his chest, holding them tightly with his arm. He picked up a single berry from the bowl before popping it in his mouth. Apparently talking made him feel better. Maka was reminded of a book she read mentioning distraction helping with grief. "Books. Many books come to island. On wood. In crates. Sometimes able to read. Other times not." Soul glanced around the room at the piles of books she had stacked from recent reading. She tried to keep them safely in the other room but had a tendency to leave them strewn about. "I'll say." "No I say." She wondered briefly if he was afflicted with one of the mental disorders she had read about. He seemed relatively sane but he did try to freeze himself to death. "Oh, no. It means I agree." "Ah! Sorry." She made a note in the nearby grammar book she had been reading while waiting for the fire to relight. "And why do you have manners? You can't just randomly repeat them like a parrot." Maka was unsure of what a parrot was but she made a mental note to add it to the list to look it up later. It was getting longer and longer by the second. "Social Etiquette: Margaret Smith ." The book was one of the few titles that had been there for as long as she had been. She had thought it came with her when she was young. She thought most of it was useless knowledge but it was one of the few things she had to read in the early years. "Drink?" She offered remembering one of the cardinal rules of the book. She never thought she would practice them with another human. "Huh?" "You, need drink?" She tried her best to pull from the book she had just been reading through. "That would be great actually. My head is killing me." Instantly she jumped to his side. Hands running through his hair and around his had checked his wound when she had wrapped it but not since then. How could it kill so fast? She had read that head injuries bleed profusely but she had not been expecting the amount that came from him. She thought she had stopped it after she gotten him cleaned up but it must have started again. Depending on how long he had been bleeding he could die in minutes. "What's the matter?" His shoulders were stiff and hunched close to his neck. She tried her best to remember what that could mean but it had been so long since she had looked at any serious complications. Maybe something called meningitis? "Dizzy? Eyes see okay?" She thought she was supposed to ask that part when a wound had something to do with blood. "Maka I'm fine. Why are you panicking?" He pulled her arms to her side and held them there. He seemed totally fine so she allowed herself to calm. "You said are dying from head." Soul paused a bit before falling backwards laughing. Or at least she thought it was laughing. She had never heard such a beautiful sound. It was high pitched and broken up by breaths but it was also filled with happiness. Similar to the way the sun had felt on her skin earlier but not quite the same. It was infectious and Maka found herself laughing as well for the first time in years. "It's a figure of speech. A phrase that isn't taken exactly as said." He had finally gotten control of himself and was laying flat on the cot with her. She had fallen back as well and was doing her best to stifle her giggles. "So, we're stuck inside for a week. Do you have the food and water to support two people?" The sentence was more complex and took Maka longer to work through. Her brain was getting tired of trying to pull up words she hasn't read in years. "Yes. Prepared for storm, same time every year." "Then would you mind if I stayed?" Maka couldn't help but smile. Like she would ever turn him away. Rather than risking saying something stupid Maka just nodded and smiled. "Great, I'm going to rest for a bit." He settled back into his makeshift bed and pulled the furs back over him. As soon as he was fully covered his eyes drifted shut. Maka watched from her place across the fire, seeing his breathing slow. She stared at the up and down movement of his chest until it stabilized and she was confident he wasn't going to stop breathing in his sleep. She decided to work on reviewing her medical text to make sure she was caring for her newest guest while she watched over him. After the first few pages she found herself relaxing more so than usual, letting her breath match his. It was a strange concept to her, to have another human making sounds near by. She smiled before focusing on the book, he won't last long if she spends all her time just watching him. 00000000000000000 On the second full day of Soul sleeping Maka found the section on the medical text marked Concussion. After violently shaking him awake (which she later read was just about as bad as letting him sleep) they had sat down to a nice breakfast. Maka knew she was no great cook but in her defense, she had never had real food before and it a was a bit difficult to find exact ingredients for the recipes she had. She spent the first part of her life on the island eating only raw fruits and vegetables. If she did find meat she would cook it over a fire but it was less of cooking and more of just throwing it on top until it was burnt to a crisp. She assumed she had done well as Soul was on his second bowl of Jackrabbit Soup. He was so busy eating a missed day of food they really had yet to speak. She had desperately wanted to practice her english. Unsure of how conversations were typically started she just said the first thing that came to her mind. "You smell bad." Soul choked on his bite of food and spent a moment trying to catch his breath back. She assumed that was not the right way to start. "Well- uh, I haven't had a real bath since we set sail." She had read up on his country and how long it would take to get to the general area of the ocean they were in. "That's a- long time." According to most text it was 3 months on the most favorable voyage and up to a year if everything went wrong. "Yeah, I would love a bath." Before she could respond his eyes widened and shook his head. "But I don't need one. I don't know what the water situation is like and I wouldn't want to waste any on something so small." Maka was confused. She always put personal hygiene at the top of her list. She found if she put it off too long she would get sick easier which could be deadly here. "No . Plenty of water. You smell, need a bath." She smiled at the almost indignant pout on his face but he sighed and nodded his head in agreement. "Okay, just bring me a bowl and I will get cleaned up." He stood up and started to unbutton his shirt. When Maka had examined him she found a large raised line that marked his chest. She couldn't find anything in her books about it but it didn't seem to be an immediate injury so she had ignored it. Now that he was awake she thought she would ask him about it. Before she could say anything he cleared his throat. "Where did you want me to be? I mean, I don't want waste anything but I might spill a bit." "Oh right, come with me." She stood from her cross legged position by the fire. She was thinking of taking a bath herself but didn't want to leave him alone. She grabbed his arm and guided them towards the door to her room. It was somewhat hidden behind a pile of books she had been meaning to sort but never got around to. She pushed open the curtain blocking the entrance and strolled into her room. "Oh, there's more. I didn't realize." Soul stared around the room in awe. "You think I live in a hole in a rock?" She giggled happily at his shamed expression. She knew that to him she was a savage. Not educated, could barely speak, even unable to understand concepts to him that were basic. But no she wasn't a savage. Although her statement was a little misleading, after all it was a cave. She didn't think it was really that special. She liked her room and stared longingly at the large wooden bed she had missed the past few nights. Four post were carved with great detail and the mattress was as soft as a pile of feathers. It was much nicer than the stack of furs she had slept on until the boat carrying the giant bed had washed up. There were other things around the room that she had picked up thinking that they would be of use at some point. Swords, painting, and other glittery things were scattered around the room on mismatching furniture. Her favorite part of her room was the gentle veins of dark green that were marbled through the walls. It was the reason she had picked this cave to live in. She had done some research but she could pull very little information about the rock from the 3 geology books that had washed up. It clearly wasn't dangerous and the color reminded Maka of something happy. But she could never quite figure out what. After letting Soul poke around the weapons for a while he breezed past her and she was reminded why they were there in the first place. Grabbing his arm again he jumped before following her through the door. She couldn't help but think that the people in England must be very cowardly, to jump at another human they knew was there. "There's still more. Come on, stinky." "You're pretty rude for a woman you know." Maka rolled her eyes. As she pulled him through yet another entrance, grabbing a lit candle on her way down. The hall declined somewhat steeply before leading into darkness. It had taken Maka a few years to chip out footholds from the solid stone. Eventually it became possible to walk down without sliding. The further they walked the warmer the air grew. Maka began to feel the tell tale humidity of steam wrapping around her face, tickling her cheeks before condensing in beads on her hair. The stairway ended suddenly opening into a huge room of steam and water. "What is this?" Soul asked from behind her. Sweat stuck to his forehead and for a moment she wondered if he would pass out. Before she could really worry he breezed by her taking the candle. "Is this a bath house?" "It's a hot spring," She answered. "Water comes from deep in earth. Goes past molten core and gets hot. Then rises to surface." "Do you know what people would pay to come to a place like this?" He asked gliding dreamily towards a nearby pool. It was the one she usually used so it had some basic necessities like soap and more candles. "No cost. It's the earth." He snickered and shook his head, something about it made her annoyed, like he knew something she didn't. "Well I guess I don't have to worry about wasting water. How far back does it go?" The darkness creeped around them only fended off by the small fire. She pulled her shirt over her head while he slowly inched further into the room. Sliding down her skirt she smiled at the thought of the soothing water. "Don't know. Far. Don't get lost." With his back to her she could see him fighting every instinct to explore before stepping back. She wasn't kidding it was easy to get lost in the pools, something about the steam could easily turn her around. Not all of the pools were at non dangerous temperatures either. "Okay, well I guess I will get cleaned up, I can find my own way b-" He turned to face her and yelped in surprise. Quickly she spun around too, wondering if some animal had managed to make it's way inside. Upon seeing nothing she turned back to him with a questioning look. He was staunchly facing the opposite direction with his spine stiffer than those of her books. "What did you see?" "Y-y-y-your indecent!" He spat out. He had started to shake and it seemed a wonder he had managed to keep a grip on the candle. "Well, you're rude." She was a perfectly decent person and thought he had understood that. "No I mean-" He began to face her then whipped his head back to face out again. "You're improper!" "Why are you being mean?" Maka crossed her arms defensively. He had been so kind up until now. Suddenly she not a proper human? What an ungrateful jerk. "Nooo. I mean you're" He whined pitifully. She could see him raise an arm to run his hand through his hair. He took a deep breath then in a whisper, "not dressed." Her eyebrow raised of her own accord while she tried to think of any other use to the term dressed that she might be misunderstanding. Unless she was a meat, she couldn't find one. "Yes?" She answered carefully. "W-w-why?" She could hear him swallow from her position. What was making him so nervous. "How will I get clean?" "Oh I didn't know you wanted to go first. I can come back later to do mine." He began to turn but then remembered the situation and froze. It was almost comical to her. "No, we will go at the same time. You are still injured, you might drown." The last thing she needed was him floating around in her bath pools for the rest of time. "But, men and women don't bathe together! I shouldn't even see you naked, it's so improper." Maka rolled her eyes clearly annoyed by speaking to his back. She stalked up to her guest, grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around, and leaned up into his face. "What is improper?!" His eyes immediately were trying to find anywhere other her to look. "It's uh- it's, you see." He huffed before squeezing his eyes shut. "Look I can't think right now. Just cover yourself and I will tell you!" Maka sighed as he turned away again. She grabbed the candle out of his hand and lit the ones by her standard pool. She slowly slid into the water letting the slow current wash away the dirt and sweat that had clung to her skin. "Okay what is improper?" His whole body relaxed as he turned to her previous spot. He seemed confused until his eyes met hers in the pool. He turned away again. "You aren't dressed!" She was fed up with whatever silly mannerism he was sticking too. "And you stink so get in the water!" "I can't look at you, if I see you naked then it will ruin your reputation!" "Ah, yes my reputation with books. You can't see anything, get in the water before I make you!" She had practically screamed at him. She could sense the hesitation in his step but at the thought of her threat he shuffled quickly to the side of the pool, removing his shirt. She watched in fascination as it drifted off his pale skin. She had never seen skin so light, uncolored by the sun. "Could you look away?" Her eyes pulled away from the particular patch of shoulder she was staring at to find his eyes pointed at the ground. He cleared his throat with a cough. "I'm going to take my pants off now." "Oh, okay?" She turned to face the light brown stone of the wall and waited. The rustling of fabric was quickly followed by the sound of displaced water as he lowered himself into the pool. "Propriety is the concept that a woman should never be seen by a man she is not married to." She whipped her head around to find him sitting as far away from her as he could possibly be. The pool wasn't very deep, sitting on the natural platforms the water only came up enough to just cover her chest. However, Soul had managed to sink deep into it was squatting up to his neck. "That seems silly. Why not?" Everything she had read on the word proper did not really fit that description. "It will ruin her and she will be unable to marry." She had read about marriage before. It seemed a very strange concept to her. People have to get a piece of paper and approval by all sorts of unimportant people just to live together. She briefly wondered if that made her and Soul married until the storm passed. "How does it ruin her?" "She has been spoiled by that man." He responded sinking up to his mouth. "She is not a fruit. Human's do not spoil." "Well to her future husband she is not innocent anymore. Someone else has seen his wife's naked body." "So?" "So? So that's a big deal! She isn't his anymore!" "Because someone else looked at her?" Maka's voice was measured as she tried to understand the situation. "Yes." "That's idiotic. People aren't property or fruit." "I-I Look it's just the way things are okay." He looked her in the eyes for the first time since coming down. "Why?" "I don't know!" Soul yelled. There was a steady silence before Maka spoke again. "I think it's stupid. I belong to me and whoever I want to give part of me to. No one else." She had briefly daydreamed about finding a mate when she was younger and more naive. She had never thought a male would ever arrive on the island, let alone having a selection. "I think you might be right." He smiled softly, looking to mend the fight. Her cheeks warmed from the steam and she smiled. "Hey Maka?" Soul asked. "Yeah?" "Do you have any soap, you stink." **Yay all done! Next chapter we will explore some history about Maka and look at the developing relationship between the two. Not much else to say, hope you enjoyed it!**


	4. The Secondary Force

Soul found out a lot about Maka over the next few days. While her English was still strained she was a fast learner and had seemed to devour about 20 grammar books in the time it took him to sleep off his head injury. As it turns out it wasn't too serious he had just knocked it on a root during his mad dash away from the bees.

Maka had muttered something about a concussion when he woke up to some serious shaking but he didn't pay much mind. She may not speak as well as he did but her knowledge was greater than anyone he had ever known. Her topics of expertise seemed to be in medicine, weather, botany, and various forms of cultures he had never heard of.

After a very uncomfortable situation involving him trying to communicate needing to bathe he found that there were just some concepts she couldn't grasp, like propriety. But then again, why would she ever need to? It's not like there were gossiping housewives in the middle of nowhere. In the past few days he found that she wanted to do nothing but talk her way through the storm. In a way he couldn't blame her, it must have been terribly lonely.

. After the initial awkwardness of being strangers they quickly settled into a friendly familiarity with each other. Soul thought that her sleeping in the other room helped significantly. They would wake up around the same time and silently enjoy breakfast before heading off to their respective activities. He would look around her home at the different treasures she had collected while she read. They would then meet for lunch and talk a bit before she would return to her books until dinner time leading him to wonder where she had found all of her things, where she came from and why he was so entranced with a such a savage girl.

She told him about it the fourth night of the storm The wind had started howling louder than he had heard so far. She had said it was the worst of it passing over.

She made them what he could only describe as a purple egg soup before settling down to what looked vaguely like a set table. Really it was just her work space for medicines but she had laid down cloth and a variety of mismatching silverware and dishes. Some of them were run of the mill wooden dishware. A few however, were made of the most delicate porcelain and what looked to be gold. He stared at the bowl in front of him set atop a cracked wooden plate. Inside a picture of a beautiful pale Eastern women was dancing with fans splayed open in her hands. The colors were bright and precise with each speck adding to the piece. Soul thought it was nicer than most art he had seen and more than likely at least as expensive.

"Maka, where did you get this?" He looked up to find her balancing food on her spoon in deep focus. Silverware was a concept she was familiar with but never bothered to practice so he had started to teach her.

"The bowl?" She didn't take her eyes off the spoon as she brought it to her mouth without it tipping over.

"Yes. I am not sure if you know this but it is most likely worth a grand amount of money." She paused for a moment thoughtfully.

"Soul? What exactly is money. I know it's some paper or metal but why does everyone want it?" Many of their conversations went this way. Soul briefly wondered if she was just distracting him or just innocently curious.

"Well, money represents the value of something. It's how you get things back home like food or furs."

"So people just give you things? In exchange for paper that represents an imaginary number?" Money was harder to explain than Soul thought.

"Yes but no. For example those red berries you pick. Say I don't know how to pick them so I give you money in exchange for the fruit since I don't know how to pick the non-poisonous ones."

"Where did you get the money? And why don't you just learn to pick the berries? This doesn't make sense." She pouted and he chuckled.

"The world very rarely seems to." They settled back into the silence while he took a bite of the very toxic looking food. But he wasn't one to be picky, Maka always knew what tasted best.

"It washed up… You can have it if you want." Soul looked up from his oddly tasty meal.

"Huh?"

"The bowl. It washed up like the books. I just picked it up since it was beautiful though. If you wanted it you can have it." She was staring at her gold toned spoon as if she were going to offer it too.

"No Maka it's your bowl. What am I going to do with a China bowl anyway?"

"Take it when you leave? Give it to someone for money. Money is supposed to make people happy right? You're my first friend. I want you to be happy." Soul felt a knot pull tightly in his throat. Friend? He supposed they were friends at this point.

He didn't like to think about leaving. He wasn't sure if he ever could. He didn't even know if his crew was alive, let alone if they were even still on the island. He had kind of hoped they sailed away before the storm hit, but he knew that was a childish belief.

"Well when I do leave I will take you with me. And your bowl, and you can sell it and buy all the new books you can carry." He inwardly chuckled at the image of Maka in a proper dress stumbling down the street with him trying to carry armfuls of books without falling.

He looked briefly around the room taking in the large collection of random things she had decorating the main room. He had noticed the hidden door that led to her bedroom and the bath. He blushed for a moment thinking of the awkwardness from the last time he had visited it with her. He quickly changed his train of thought. "A lot of weird stuff washes up here doesn't it? I wonder where it all comes from."

He had recognized some of the dishes from China and a wooden mask from the Wilds Africa but there was so much more that he had no hope of pinpointing its origin.

"The island takes what it wants from the sea." She stated matter-of-factly. He's noticed she holds the island in reverence. Almost as she sees it as some form of God.

"What could it want this stuff for?" He kept his eyes on the sparks of green flickering up from beneath her eyelashes.

"Sometimes I think it takes it for me. I run out of books to read or need a new shirt then one comes." She looked up from her tray to meet him, honesty in her eyes.

"Why do you think it took you?" He wasn't sure why he had asked her that. She made a point not to answer questions about her past. At first he thought she just didn't understand but after seeing first hand how smart she was, he could clearly see she was avoiding it.

Maka stirred her eggs. The fire popped in the back as if it were laughing at Soul's lack of social grace. He was about to say anything to change the subject when she started to speak.

"I don't know. Maybe it was lonely." She wasn't visibly upset so Soul prodded it for more.

"How did you get here anyway? Do you remember anything at all?" Her face tightened as she appeared deep in thought.

"Boat. My parents looked for old things. In different places. They would bring me with sometimes." She spoke slowly but not out of confusion. More like she had to think on every word.

"They were treasure hunters?" He supplied the word for her. She nodded and gazed into the fire. "So you were on the boat with them?"

"I- It's hard to remember..." She trailed off.

"It's okay take your time." Soul encouraged. The dinner was forgotten and growing cold but Soul had been too patient waiting for information on the savage woman that had no business being on this island. It was a harsh unforgiving environment. Her size was a testament to that. What Soul had mistaken for youth was a combination of poor light, baggy clothes, and malnutrition, she was as much of an adult as he was.

She warned him not to eat anything without her because some of the herbs and berries in the cave were medicinal and poisonous if not prepped correctly. She read more books than he had ever seen, even if some were out dated. She hunted and gathered on an island that he had almost died on hours after stepping foot into the jungle. She grew and learned from the environment and even documented notes on what she found in an old journal. She even knew the weather patterns of the unpredictable island and was more prepared than Buckingham for whatever the world threw at her.

Soul had to know. She was too amazing to be real. Some part of him would swear he could see the glowing light of heaven around her, but that was probably being stuck in the cave to long. Soul had grown to admire her, if not for her skills, then at least for her sanity and iron will. But because of all that, he was wary of her still. She had done nothing to earn his distrust. In fact she had done more to earn it than most of his crew. But that was the issue. She was too perfect, too good, too inhuman.

"I was young. I think maybe 3 or 4 years." Soul jumped when her eyes met his as she started to speak. "We were on the boat, going South of the new world. They were talking at night, over maps. I had fallen asleep but woke up. There was thunder, and wind. I was scared. My father ran upstairs to help. My mother told me to stay below…"

"Maka, you don't have to-"

"No. The rest is easy. I waited for them but they didn't come. I went up when I got hungry and everyone was gone. The boat had drifted into a bay here and after awhile I just got off." Her eyes became sharper and more alert to the present.

"Where did they go?" Soul asked.

"Gone. Just gone." The silence hung thickly in the air. Soul felt a knot in his throat as he breathed it in. Digging up old memories had hurt her and it was clear. She wasn't crying or even frowning which he would have preferred. Her face was just set into a hard line and her eyes didn't hold the endless curiosity he had grown used to.

"How did you survive?" He prodded, most 3 year olds he knew were bumbling idiots.

"I watched what the animals did. Ate what they ate. The island looked after me. It became my parents until I was old enough to take care of myself."

"That's amazing Maka. Anyone else would have died."

"No. It was survival. It was scraping by on almost nothing. It was loneliness." Her voice was empty and dark. She was very much like an old oak tree whose branches would still grow leaves in the spring but it's trunk was rotted and hollow.

"I- I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." Maka corrected immediately, shaking the mood from the air. "I'm not alone anymore!"

Her smile was infectious and Soul found himself smiling back. Inside, however, he wish he could have just kept her on that separate level of human. Because now he felt responsible for her. He had never been responsible for anything in his life other than himself. And the thought terrified him.

 **Here you are, look for the next chapter over winter break maybe sooner if I get some writing done over Thanksgiving. Big test coming up you see. I am kind of losing steam for this story, try to give me some motivation in the reviews if you could. I'd appreciate it. Thanks.**


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